Even if you are holding at 6 ounces and she gets 6 ounces of formula a day when you are working - you don't have to be done nursing her. Because your body is making enough milk on the weekends for her and you can still nurse whenever your are together. I know that it's not ideal, but it's not an all or nothing thing.

if all else fails you can combo feed...feed when you are together and as much as possible other times. Her diaper output is still great so no worries there. Would you consider talking to your healthcare professional about domperidone?

September 12th, 2012, 04:01 PM

@llli*lilpats-mama

Re: I guess my body is finished?

I'm sorry to hear about your frustrations, that is a terrible policy to throw out breastmilk right away! I haven't seen such advice anywhere. :confused: Could you print out CDC and WHO guidelines and give them to the daycare, showing that the milk is safe to keep and doesn't need to immediately be tossed?

And in the meantime, maybe you could adjust the times they feed her so she's not sleepy during the feeding?? Or stick to formula only at daycare on alternating days, to catch up your stash in the meantime? It sounds like you've already gotten good suggestions but I wanted to throw that out there.

And I wanted to second mommy2lilah's comment that it's not all or nothing :ita - I don't think that message is out in the wider world enough, and sometimes moms quit entirely when they don't have to (and didn't want to). I tried like heck to EBF, but due to various challenges, we had to supplement with formula to a small extent starting when our LO was ~3 mo old because I was going back to work soon after - and to a greater extent later, as I had to travel on business. But he still always got majority breastmilk in a 24-hr period, and I'm very happy our breastfeeding relationship is still going at almost a year. :) Hang in there! :cheer

September 13th, 2012, 11:27 AM

@llli*kbear

Re: I guess my body is finished?

Thank you for all of the support. I am definitely going to combo feed. I am just not finished with BF and I know my LO isnt either. I always talk to her our whole commute home, and on Tuesday I told her that we may have to start formula. She looked at me with this silly face and started laughing like I was telling a joke. It was super cute but it also kind of broke my heart b/c I know she loves nursing so much. I'm going to try to never have to send more than one bottle of formula a day, and she'll never get formula from me. She'll be 7mo this weekend so I'm proud to say we made that far without formula and I'm still going to try as hard as I can to BF until she' a year.

In regards to printing out guidelines on BM, I already tried. It's not that they think it's bad, it's just their policy. I think it's more for them to not have to worry about whats BM and what's formula. To make it easier they just have an overall policy of all bottles must be thrown out after an hour. At first the director tried to tell me it was the law, and then she finally admitted it's just policy. It's just one of those things that I can't control unless I switch dcps, and I don't want to.

September 13th, 2012, 11:35 AM

@llli*mommy2lilah

Re: I guess my body is finished?

You know what mama - you are doing the best for your child. And if it helps you, you can think of formula as a solid food. She's old enough for solids now, and that's probably what I would be telling myself. Keep on nursing when you're together, keep pumping - even if you can't get the whole days worth of milk - and you'll be fine. :hug

September 16th, 2012, 06:39 PM

@llli*worknpump

Re: I guess my body is finished?

Just wanted to say :hug. Keep up the great work. You're doing a great job. I really like Tracie's comment about thinking of formula as "solid food" supplement. That's a great way to look at it! It's definitely not all or nothing and you'll come up with a system that works. Way to go!! :clap

I also have a feeling that once things settle down for you, emotionally, you might see an improved pump output. Stress can really impact supply, at least for me. Try pumping with a nursing cover on, whether you're driving or not. And flip through a magazine or something while you're pumping. I pump MORE when I'm not sitting there staring down at the bottles.

September 18th, 2012, 11:18 AM

@llli*kbear

Re: I guess my body is finished?

So over the weekend I decided my DH needed to try a bottle of formula just so I'd know if she'd take it or not. Well...she didnt. She screamed and refused to eat. So yesterday and today at daycare, since i didnt have enough milk for her normal 4 bottles, her last bottle was formula. She didn't get to it yesterday. The dcp said she wasn't hungry for it. She is sick with a cold (yet again), so that could have contributed to her freak out with the formula this weekend, and maybe also contributed to her lack of hunger yesterday. We'll see. But anyway still no formula. I'll just keep sending what I can in BM (hopefully I can keep up with the 9oz), and the last bottle will be formula and it's up to her if she wants it or not. I did tell the dcp that if she acts hungry they can try more solids as well. She was just taking a little bit of cereal and sometimes a little fruit or veggies in the afternoon...but they said she's doing really well with it so maybe upping the solids will keep her just drinking the 9oz at daycare and then she can nurse all she wants with me.

September 18th, 2012, 11:24 AM

@llli*mommy2lilah

Re: I guess my body is finished?

It sounds like a good plan! Maybe she freaked out because she was at home and wanted to nurse, not have a bottle?